I was up a few minutes before my alarm set for seven, feeling nice and well-rested. I was glad that I slept so well because the butterflies didn’t wait another moment before assaulting my stomach. Before doing anything else, I knelt next to my toilet to make sure I wasn’t about to get sick. My heart was pounding, and sweat was already beginning to run down my face and hands. I tried to remember if I had eaten anything that might’ve made my stomach upset or if it was really just all the nerves hitting me at one time.

It took about ten minutes for me to finally calm down enough to be comfortable enough to stand. All the while, my stupid alarm on my phone had been blaring the entire time, which really did not help matters. That well-rested feeling I had didn’t last long. From that entire ordeal, I felt a bit crappy and I desperately wanted some water. Groaning, I went out to the living room to see Lori out there, looking chipper as ever.

“Dude, your alarm was going off for ages,” she said with a grin. “How heavy of a sleeper are you?”

“Nerves got to me, and I thought I was to get sick,” I replied, hoping to shut down the heavy sleeper idea. “I was up before that went off. Which reminds me, why are you here?”

She rubbed her hands together and looked a bit meek. “Well, since I was made leader, I thought it’d be smart if I got you guys personally. Michelle let me in.”

“Oh, you can just call me Shelly now. Won’t pull a gun on you again. Probably.” I looked up and noticed my sister in the kitchen, already making breakfast. She frowned when she saw me. “You look like crap. You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, like I said, big time nerves when I woke up. I was worried I might puke, so I just sat by the toilet for a bit. Could you get me a glass of water, please?”

She handed me a cold glass and I thanked her. I started drinking it slowly, and once I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to throw it back up, I downed it quick. The cold sent a bit of a shock through me and helped make me feel a bit more normal. I stretched a bit to try and get the blood flowing while both women gave me strange looks.

“What?” I asked, confused and embarrassed.

“On the surface, you seem so unbothered by these things happening so fast, Ethan,” Lori said. Her look had switched to one of genuine concern. “Are you sure you’re okay for this?”

“Well, I have nightmares sometimes, so I’m not totally unbothered. I’m just going with the flow of everything right now.” I figured that there was no sense in lying. She could probably feel if I tried to lie and likely felt my nervousness anyway. “But...I think I want to do something. So, I’ll help you and Alex out with this. It might help me out too.”

Suddenly, Lori’s phone went off. While she checked it, I remembered my luggage and went to get it. Both the suitcase and backpack were outside the door to my room. They felt a bit heavier than I remembered them feeling the night before, and I hoped that wasn’t a bad sign. To try and test it myself, I opened and closed my hands. I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort in my arms. I knew that I wasn’t strong to begin with, so I just blamed it on that and having just had that episode in the bathroom. Carefully, I pulled my stuff back out into the living room.

“Great timing, that was Alex just now,” Lori informed me, tapping away on her phone. “He’s just going to meet us at the car, so we can head there any time.”

“Wait, car?” I asked, confused. For some reason, I expected something involving an Anomaly, not really a road trip. “We’re not going to teleport or something?”

“That’s...there’s some stuff I’ll tell you about on the way. It’s a bit easier to explain on the road with nothing but blank scenery around. Trust me, when we’re going by our billionth farm, you’ll want some conversation.”

I was still a little lost. I decided not to press her for more information just yet. It wouldn’t be a good start if I was already questioning what the boss was saying. Instead, I double checked both my bags to make sure I had everything. Shelly and I were pretty thorough last night in our packing, and it didn’t seem like anything was amiss. Satisfied, I wanted to check with Lori to make sure she was set. “You didn’t forget anything, right?”

“I think I have everything, but just to be safe...” Lori grabbed her suitcase and brought it around. I was glad it was bigger than my own, so I wouldn’t feel quite as self-conscious about how much space my stuff was taking up. She opened it up and I turned away. For some reason, I felt uncomfortable looking at someone’s luggage. “Shirts, shorts, socks, underwear, brush, laptop. Yep, I think I’m all set. Thanks for getting me check again. Better safe than sorry.”

She zipped her suitcase back up and turned to Shelly. “I’m sorry, but we really should be going now. Do you want to walk with us there and see us off?”

“No, if I do that, I’ll have a bad moment out there.” Shelly walked out from the kitchen and wrapped me in a massive hug. She was much shorter than me, but her strength came from more than just size. I embraced her back and felt my eyes getting a bit misty. I thought I heard a few sniffles come from her. “Use that noggin to make good choices. You keep Alex and this little lady safe as best you can. Text me or call me when you’re able to, and please, come back in one piece.” After her hug, she turned around and went to her laptop for work, not allowing me to see her face.

Lori and I exited my home, which I gave one long look. It felt nice, in a way. Unlike when I moved, it didn’t feel like a final goodbye. I did feel sad about leaving it behind, since I was already starting to feel like it was home. I wanted to go back inside and say another goodbye to my sister, and I had to stop myself. If I did something like that, I really might not have been able to go forward with Lori and Alex.

We walked in silence, trying to look at some of the different things I saw on this new route. There were a lot of actual restaurants, and while none of them were open, they all looked cozy and welcoming. I wondered if there were any Anomalies that might make someone a better cook. Or if not a better cook itself, some other weird power that could be used to help make food taste better. Comparatively, making shields seemed less cool than being able to cook like it was magic. Maybe more useful against someone who could vaporize cities, I’d concede that much. Still, definitely not as cool.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

On the way, I noticed that we passed some more unusual things I hadn’t been expecting in the complex. I saw one of those hockey rinks that I was told about on my initial arrival. I only got a peek inside, but it looked almost like a full arena that you’d see for a pro team. I almost stopped to let myself contemplate the architecture of the whole thing. When I realized it’d only give me a headache trying to make heads or tails of it, I started to turn away. I know that other sports fields were mentioned, so the staggering size of this place was really dawning on me.

“What’s got you...oh, the arena.” Lori stopped after sensing the change in my feelings. Her eyes darted to the rink’s doors. “Yeah, that’s why they built this place in the middle of the mountains. Getting people with superpowers to make the thing was easy enough, but the space was the big issue. They still have an illusion on this entire place, just in case, but being out in the mountains was a popular decision for secrecy. That does make the commute for people who work in town a huge bitch to deal with.”

I simply nodded, still trying to process the size of it all. Lori chuckled and carried on, waving me forward. Further along and behind some more turns, I saw a space that looked like it was a massive lake with a few people fishing in it. Lori assured me that it was real and not an illusion. Apparently, outside of its creation, the entire thing was as natural as a lake you’d find outside in the regular world. Lori claimed there were cabins in there that people could use as a little vacation spot. They were apparently much cheaper than anything they could find outside of the Luna complex. While I couldn’t see any cabins from where I stood, I thought renting one out might make for a fun little staycation if we could manage to get the money.

After I made myself not look at anything else that might distract me further, we walked for about ten more minutes. Lori pushed through a set of large steel doors in front of us and we emerged into a massive parking garage. The only differences I could find between it and a normal parking garage were the size and lack of open-air spaces. That made it feel a touch dreary, not that parking garages were exactly visually stimulating on the best of days.

“This is huge,” I said, looking at all the cars. One reason it was so big was because each car had a lot of room in their spaces. If it was more compact, it’d probably be about half the size. “Wouldn’t it be dangerous to have a bunch of cars running in here at the same time?”

“Normally it would be, but they spent an insane amount of time properly ventilating this place.” Lori stopped to look around and I followed her gaze. Another short walk away stood Mrs. Carmichael, Alex, Lizzy, and two other guys that I didn’t know. Once Lori saw them, she perked up and yelled out. “Hey! Hey, guys!”

Lori ran over to them and I almost tripped trying to keep up. I saved myself and my dignity for the most part, though I could see Lizzy trying to hold herself back from laughter. Even though she held back, I still threw her a dirty glare, which was met with one of fake innocence. Alex didn’t seem to notice or care what we got up to. I’d take that result every time over getting grilled by the guy.

“I wanted to say bye to you guys,” Lizzy said, clearing up any confusion about why she was there before anyone could ask. She pointed toward a shy-looking pale guy with black hair. He looked to be around my age, maybe a bit younger. Then she directed our attention to a Hispanic kid who was definitely younger than me. Relaxed confidence rolled off him in waves. “Lori and Ethan, meet Braden and Julio. These boys are under my command now, so I’ll have to boss them around when you guys aren’t here.”

“That means I might not have to spend a week in a hospital bed. Not sure how I’ll go on.”

Lizzy blew a raspberry at me and crossed her arms. “Talk back to me like that again and I’ll give you a full makeup job. Then we’ll see how happy you’ll be after that, pretty boy.”

“I’m really not sure why you call me pretty like that.” I felt a bit sheepish, which might’ve been her goal all along.

“I see the natural beauty in all things, my friend,” she said, faking a high and mighty tone, before she got a bit more serious. “Give yourself some more credit.”

“I appreciate the brevity of this, but we all have some very busy days coming up.” Mrs. Carmichael stepped forward with a small bag, handing it to Lori. It looked like a moderately-oversized fanny pack. Lori nodded and took it, apparently not surprised at the parting gift. “I’ll leave it to you to explain everything in there.”

Mrs. Carmichael turned her attention to Alex and I, this time a rare look of deep sadness in her eyes. “I’m truly sorry that I’ve asked you both to do this. In a perfect world, you could all live here with any family and friends, free of any true danger and hardship you would experience for being different. Unfortunately, we do not live in that perfect world, and I couldn’t have more pride in everyone here for their willingness to help. Please, Mr. Harper, Mr. Snow, and Ms. Davis, above all else, be safe and take care of each other. I know I’m grasping at straws with this, but I value your lives more than any possible item in a cave. That’s why I took extra precautions that Ms. Davis will explain to you on the way.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling more embarrassed than when Lizzy was teasing me. “It got a bit heavy there, so I think we should say our goodbyes before we get too depressed.”

“Good idea,” Mrs. Carmichael agreed, a small smile growing on her face. “Best of luck to you all. I know you’ll do wonderfully.” She turned and walked down a different hallway before vanishing from my vision altogether. The sense of desperation I got from her made me want to find something that would be able to help. Plus, it’d help make Lori good if she could report back a success.

“I’m going to miss having you guys around so much!” Lizzy pulled Lori into a fierce hug. Lori, clearly having trouble breathing, returned the embrace. “Rosie’s going to be so sad she couldn’t make it to say bye, so you guys better be back soon for her.”

“I’m gobba miff you too!” Lori tried yelling, muffled from the embrace. Finally, she was able to pull herself free with a gasp of air. “We’ll be back as soon as we can. Boys, I’m going to go check out the car we got. Take your time saying bye!”

Alex just shrugged and kinda grunted. He stuck out his hand for a handshake. Lizzy rolled her eyes and shook her head, matching the handshake for him, mumbling something about him needing to be nicer. He shook both Braden and Julio’s hands as well. They didn’t dare give him the sass Lizzy did. Alex quickly left me with the three of them, and I was kind of worried about a similar hug that Lori got.

“You take it easy, okay? They’re good people, so try not to get worked up being trapped in a car with them.” Lizzy stuck a fist out in front of me. After a moment of confusion, I bumped her knuckles with my own, appreciating the thought she put into the gesture. “I’m going to get these guys in tiptop shape, so you better not slack off just because I’m not there to kick you into high gear.”

“Didn’t you just tell me to take it easy?”

“Yeah, take it easy, just don’t get complacent,” she said. “I meant don’t just create needless large barriers or try to stop a truck. You’ll be on the road for a while, so find ways to practice in small ways and keep busy.”

“Got it, will do.” I looked at the other guys behind her, sensing they were about ready to get on with their day. Smiling, I shook both their hands still before turning to leave. “When we get back, we’ll have to do team exercises together or something.”

Nervous and excited for the road ahead, I joined up with my partners to try and turn the tide of this conflict.